Christmas events in games 2026: the official calendar

How to read this page: 2026 rows come from the publisher's own post. Last year rows describe the December 2025 event so you know what to expect, and they will be replaced as soon as the 2026 version is out. Sales and giveaways are in the holiday gaming hub.

The calendar at a glance

World of Tanks: Holiday Ops

World of Tanks names its winter event after the new year, so the one you are waiting for is Holiday Ops 2027, and on November 13, 2026 it is not announced. The official November 2026 calendar only promises Black Friday and Thanksgiving offers from November 23 to November 30, 2026. Last year the first holiday post came on November 24, 2025 and the event started on December 5, so expect news in the last week of November.

Last year (Holiday Ops 2026) ran from December 5, 2025 to January 12, 2026. The free parts were generous:

• Advent Calendar: log in from December 1 to December 31, 2025 and open one door per day (today's or yesterday's). Six doors gave a 2D style, nine a special crew member, twelve a Large Christmas Box.
• Free Tier IX tank: the French medium Fantome with a festive style, for logging in between December 19, 2025 and January 1, 2026 and clicking the gift box in the Garage.
• Free tech tree branch: a Tier VI to X branch of your choice, plus a "Well-Deserved Reward" based on your registration year.
• Chaffee the dog: complete all 56 Holiday Ops missions to keep him for free.
• Winter Raid mode from December 11 to December 22, 2025: three teams of five racing to collect gifts.

The paid side was Large Boxes, each with 250 gold and a guaranteed Tier VIII to X vehicle every 50th box. Treat them as a gamble, not a deal. If you are new, our World of Tanks beginner guide gets you ready before the event starts.

Holiday Ops 2026 Explained! (official World of Tanks channel)

World of Warships: the 2026 holiday update is previewed

World of Warships is the only game here with an official 2026 preview. Wargaming's "Work in Progress" article of November 12, 2026 describes Update 15.11 for December as "a 6-week-long holiday season update". On first entering 15.11 players get a new Ice Station port, a free researchable Tier IX ship, two Santa's Gift containers, economic bonuses and festive decals, and the Snowflakes return, giving Coal, Steel or Festive Tokens for clearing them in battle. Wargaming warns that features may still change, and neither the release date nor the free ship's name is public yet.

Last year (Update 14.11) the free Tier IX was a choice of Lepanto, Izumo, Riga, Sejong or Fletcher for logging in during December 2025, alongside an Advent Calendar for the whole month and the Nordlyshavn port with a Christmas tree you filled with ornaments. Black Friday 2026 is live in the meantime; see our Black Friday page.

World of Sea Battle: Christmas at sea

The developers of World of Sea Battle wrote on October 22, 2026 that the Christmas and New Year event is "in the works". Last year it was announced on December 10, 2025 and ran from December 23, 2025 to January 5, 2026. You loaded snowballs to sink "Sea Elves", NPC ships immune to cannon fire with festive gifts in their holds, earned seahorses as the event currency from quests, fishing and treasure maps, and every player got a commemorative flag and island decoration just for logging in. On other players, snowballs only covered the screen in snow. It is a free PC game on Steam, and a calm one to learn over the holidays.

Raid, Hero Wars and Rise of Kingdoms

Raid: Shadow Legends has nothing announced; on November 13, 2026 the Demon Coalition event runs until November 30. Last year Plarium ran the Yukimasa Fusion from December 15, 2025 (a new Legendary, Yukimasa, Demon of Ice), the Yuletide Deck of Fate from December 22 to 26, 2025, a free Holiday Gift in the Shop, and the Frosted Path event with a free New Year Gift Chain from January 1 to 5, 2026. Plarium posts these on the day they start. Free resources: Raid promo codes.

Hero Wars is celebrating its 10th anniversary, with the Alliance event card ending on November 22, 2026. Nexters has not announced a winter event for either version. Last winter the Alliance channel published a "Wintry Wonders Season" trailer; official dates for last year's winter events were not available in any source we could open, so we give none. Event basics are in our Hero Wars events guide.

Rise of Kingdoms is running its Thanksgiving Event Series, listed in the App Store notes of November 13, 2026. Last year the Christmas Event Series arrived with the update of December 18, 2025, built around a Gingerbread Man theme with Sugarplum Showdown, Barbarian Incursions and a new city theme. Lilith prints exact event times only in game. See the Rise of Kingdoms events calendar and codes.

Where Winds Meet, Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail

Where Winds Meet marks its first global anniversary with Version 2.4, live since November 13, 2026. Its Windtail Express event, with one free outfit from 12 options, and the Blades and Bonds mode run until January 14, 2027, and a free 7 day login gift runs until December 10, 2026. No New Year event is announced yet. Last year "Fresh Wind, New Year" ran from December 11, 2025 to January 3, 2026 inside the December version update.

Genshin Impact is on Version 7.2 "Hour of Ruin" since November 4, 2026, and its Phase I event wish runs until November 24. HoYoverse has not announced 7.3. Last year the December version arrived on December 3, 2025, and the New Year's Advice from Teyvat login event ran from December 30, 2025 to January 3, 2026. Lantern Rite is not a December event: it started on January 30, 2026 last time.

Honkai: Star Rail has the clearest date: HoYoverse says Version 4.7 runs until December 23, 2026 at 06:00 (UTC+8), and 4.7 includes a free choice of Acheron, Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae or Jing Yuan. Last year's December version, 3.8, launched on December 17, 2025. Codes for both games: Genshin and Star Rail.

Pokemon GO: December dates are set

The Twilight Trails season ends on December 1, 2026 at 10 a.m. local time, and the official "save the date" post of November 9, 2026 already fixes the next season's December days:

The holiday event itself is not announced. Last year Winter Holiday Part 1 ran from December 18 to December 24, 2025 and Part 2 from December 24 to December 29, 2025, posted about ten days before the start, followed by the New Year's event from December 31, 2025 to January 4, 2026.

New Costume Sudowoodo in the Winter Holiday Part 1 event (official Pokemon GO channel)

Roblox, Fortnite and Coin Master

Roblox has announced no winter event. Its last platform events were The Hunt: Roblox 20 (September 17 to 28, 2026) and The Hollow (October 22 to November 2, 2026). The 2024 Winter Spotlight was announced the day before it started, so this can change fast. Details and the holiday updates of individual games are on our Roblox Christmas events page.

Fortnite ends Chapter 7 with a live event on Saturday, December 5, 2026. Winterfest 2026 is not announced; last year it ran from December 18, 2025 to January 5, 2026 with 14 free presents. Full breakdown: Fortnite Winterfest.

Coin Master is a slot machine game rated 17+ on the App Store for simulated gambling, and its own site says players must be 18 or older. Its latest App Store notes (November 8, 2026) add a daily reward calendar but no holiday event, and we could not open an official source for last year's Christmas events. Free spins links are on our Coin Master page.

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